The development of East Asia

Abstract

The objective of this report is to present some of the issues that are driving the economic development in East Asia. The report will not include a discussion of the development and challenges in Japan, as this would double the demand for content. After briefly having discussed the history of how the East Asian region has developed from developed country-status to one that consists mainly of emerging and newly industrialized countries, I will go on to the more current issues. First the rebound after the Asian crisis is described. Thereafter, an overview of the recent economic development of the region is presented. The development of both the region as a whole and that of the main countries is included. Following this, a discussion on how Chinese growth is affecting the region is presented, with an emphasis on how the growth of China forces the other countries to reorient their economic development strategies. Under this heading, the content of the new development plan of Thailand’s Prime Minister Thaksin is presented and discussed. Finally, there is an evaluation on the extent of regional economic cooperation and integration in East Asia.